42. Choice

Originally, this evening was scheduled for updating the "Breathtaking" account, but in order to prepare for tomorrow's meeting, Zhang Tan had no choice but to postpone it.

To everyone's surprise, Xiaobai did not come over to visit tonight. She had gone wild playing Eagle Catches the Chick, and the serious consequence of this was that Meng Chengcheng wet the bed.

It was Meng Chengcheng who wet the bed, not Xiaobai.

Meng Chengcheng had been drafted by Xiaobai to play the eagle, and despite putting in all her might, she couldn't manage to catch a single chick.

The little chicks were shielded tightly by Xiaobai. As for Meng Chengcheng? She was no match whatsoever.

Had Xiaobai not deliberately gone easy on her and betrayed the chicks trailing behind, Meng Chengcheng would have been trying to catch them until the next morning.

The little ones played until they were completely exhausted, resulting in a bed-wetting incident—impressive indeed.

Xiaobai herself turned out just fine. Presumably worn out, she didn't linger in the reading area to look at picture books tonight, choosing instead to go straight to bed and sleep alongside the other children.

As soon as Zhang Tan arrived at work the next morning, a staff member informed him that the department head wanted to see him in the conference room at nine-thirty.

He watered the flowers and plants as usual, brewed a cup of tea, and after sipping it calmly, made his way steadily to the conference room. Pushing the door open, he saw someone already sitting inside with their back to him, head bowed as they flipped through some documents. Hearing the door open, the person turned around, and as their eyes met Zhang Tan's, both froze in momentary surprise.

Zhang Tan recovered first, nodding with a smile: "Hello, Xu Jian."

The person sitting opposite was none other than Xu Jian, who had previously competed with Zhang Tan for the project "The Lampbearer."

Xu Jian wore an expression of utter astonishment, an inexplicable feeling welling up inside him. Upon careful examination and subtle rumination, he realized it felt akin to having stepped in something unpleasant, accompanied by a very ominous premonition. Why on earth would he run into Zhang Tan here?

He asked: "Zhang Tan, I didn't expect it to be you. Did you write 'Backwards Bernice'?"

He raised the documents in his hand, which were precisely the scripts just distributed by the staff, including Zhang Tan's "Backwards Bernice" and his own work.

"That's right. The other one is yours, I presume?" Zhang Tan asked.

Xu Jian felt his heart skip a beat. *Speak of the devil,* he thought. *Wasn't "The Lampbearer" finished? How are we competitors again? Are you trying to pull off a double kill? Isn't that a bit much?*

Unreconciled, Xu Jian asked: "By the way, is your work on 'The Lampbearer' complete?"

"The screenwriting phase is finished," Zhang Tan replied.

Absent-mindedly, Xu Jian chatted with Zhang Tan while pondering the script for "Backwards Bernice" in his hands. The conception of this script was completely different from his own—they were two vastly contrasting styles. He wondered which style the bosses at the television station would prefer.

Considering this was the television station's fiftieth anniversary celebration, surely nobody would choose an unlucky bear, right? How inauspicious and stylistically mismatched that would be.

Xu Jian's confidence recovered quite a bit.

Before long, the head of the screenwriting department arrived to discuss the scripts with them, subsequently inviting Yang Senlin, the head of the animation division at the film studio.

"Let's go."

After exchanging just a few words, Yang Senlin told everyone to move.

The department head then informed Zhang Tan and Xu Jian that they were heading over to Pujiang Television Station to meet with the representatives in charge.

The Pujiang Film Studio and Pujiang Television Station were both state-owned enterprises managed by the Pujiang Municipal Propaganda Department. Located in the same district, they were only a fifteen-minute drive apart.

Accompanying Zhang Tan and Xu Jian were the head of the screenwriting department, the head of the animation division, the head of the public relations department, and an animation director.

The company provided a car to transport everyone over. Upon arriving downstairs at the television station, someone was already waiting. After confirming identities, they led the group into the elevator, up to the sixteenth floor, and into a conference room.

Six people were either standing or sitting inside the conference room, a mix of men and women. Occupying the primary seat was a woman who looked no older than thirty. After introductions, they learned she was the director in charge of this animation project for the television station, whom Yang Senlin addressed as Director Wang.

The department heads clearly knew her, chatting and laughing easily. Zhang Tan and Xu Jian exchanged glances; both of them were completely in the dark about the situation and felt somewhat like they were just making up the numbers. It wasn't until the pleasantries concluded and everyone sat down, with both sides introducing their attendees, that the people opposite told Zhang Tan and Xu Jian how delightful it was to meet them and praised their talents.

The two scripts had been sent over the previous night, so everyone on the other side had already read them.

When Yang Senlin asked Director Wang if there was a preferred choice among the two scripts, Zhang Tan couldn't help but feel his heart rise into his throat.

Xu Jian took a laptop out of his bag, opened a blank document, and rested his fingers above the keyboard, watching the other party quietly as if preparing to record their words.

"Both are excellent," Director Wang said with a smile.

Zhang Tan immediately noticed Xu Jian randomly pressing a few letters on his document—*lkjh*—before quickly deleting them.

"Especially 'Backwards Bernice,'" Director Wang added, glancing at Zhang Tan. Yang Senlin also turned his head to look at him.

Xu Jian's fingers tapped lightly on the keyboard, exerting no force, and no words appeared.

Yang Senlin suggested: "How about this then? Let Zhang Tan and Xu Jian present their scripts so you can hear the writers' concepts and make your choice."

"Alright," Director Wang agreed.

Yang Senlin immediately instructed Zhang Tan to present first. Simultaneously, the department head stood up, took the printed and bound scripts from a bag, and distributed them to the people opposite. Seeing this, Xu Jian hurriedly stood up to help.

As Zhang Tan stood up, Director Wang said: "No need to stand. You can just sit and present."

"Standing makes my voice a bit louder," Zhang Tan replied, and began outlining the concept for "Backwards Bernice."

After his presentation came Xu Jian's turn, following which the other side asked several questions concerning both "Backwards Bernice" and Xu Jian's "Qiqi's Truly Wonderful."

"Let us discuss this," Director Wang announced.

"Certainly, please go ahead."

Director Wang led her team out of the conference room to deliberate in an adjacent office.

"What are everyone's thoughts?" she asked.

"Both scripts are good; we can choose either one."

"Does everyone feel that way?"

"They are indeed quite good."

...

Director Wang asked again: "Then which of the two should we choose? Let's hear everyone's opinions."

"I feel 'Qiqi's Truly Wonderful' better suits our needs."

"I am also leaning toward 'Qiqi's Truly Wonderful.'"

"'Qiqi's Truly Wonderful,' I'd say. 'Backwards Bernice' is very interesting, but the risk is high."

"'Qiqi's Truly Wonderful.'"

"If this weren't for the anniversary celebration, I would choose 'Backwards Bernice.'"

Out of the six people, everyone except Director Wang favored "Qiqi's Truly Wonderful."

Director Wang fell silent, saying nothing for a moment.

More than ten minutes later, Director Wang and her team returned to the conference room.

Yang Senlin asked: "Director Wang, have you made a choice?"

"We have."

Xu Jian closed his browser, pulled up the blank document again, kept his eyes fixed on the computer screen, and hovered his fingers over the keyboard, waiting to take notes.

Zhang Tan glanced briefly at Xu Jian's empty document—not a single word on it—and then looked at Director Wang. She wore her hair in a bob ending at her ears and a light blue women's suit, giving an impression of crisp efficiency.

"'Backwards Bernice,'" she stated. "We choose 'Backwards Bernice.'"

Yang Senlin's gaze swept past Xu Jian, who was staring fixedly at his screen, and landed on Zhang Tan. His expression held a trace of surprise, but mostly the relief of a heavy stone finally dropping to the ground.

For him, whether it was "Backwards Bernice" or "Qiqi's Truly Wonderful," both were scripts belonging to the studio. Whichever was chosen didn't matter, as long as a choice was made; the most crucial thing was securing the project.

The person most crestfallen at the scene was undoubtedly Xu Jian.

"Zhang Tan, you need to tighten up the timeline for the subsequent scripts and put your heart into it. I'm taking a gamble on you," Director Wang said, half-jokingly.

While the others had chosen "Qiqi's Truly Wonderful," she alone had leaned toward "Backwards Bernice."

"I certainly won't let you down," Zhang Tan promised.